At one time, Bill Engvall was one of the biggest names in stand-up comedy. His 1996 debut album, Here's Your Sign was a certified platinum hit. His 2003 four-person stand-up comedy tour film The Blue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie with fellow "working class" funnymen and friends Jeff Foxworthy, Larry the Cable Guy, and Ron White was released to wide critical acclaim. And his 2007 sitcom, The Bill Engvall Show ran for three seasons and introduced the world to Jennifer Lawrence. After three decades of making people laugh, the comedian is ready to throw in the towel on stand-up. He says his retirement is partly due to the infamous Will Smith Oscars slap, which Engvall says has changed comedy forever.
The 65-year-old comedian recently sat with Fox News Digital to discuss his retirement. While Engvall said there are several reasons for his decision to retire, he attributed it partly due to Will Smith walking on the stage and slapping fellow comedian Chris Rock. In Engvall's opinion, Smith has set in motion the audience's belief that they can do anything now, and it's difficult for comedians to perform with this fear in their minds. The actor/comedian told Fox:
I don't think he has any idea what ball he set in motion, but when Will Smith walked on stage and slapped…Chris Rock, he unleashed this box that people feel like they can do anything now. There didn't used to be this fear in the back of your head of like, 'is someone going to come out of the darkness of the stage or the theater or something?'
Bill Engvall shared a somewhat terrifying incident he experienced while on stage performing. The comedian recounted a moment last year when telling a joke about gifting his son a Swiss Army knife, which emboldened an audience member to come out of the darkness and place a knife on stage. Envall said he was stunned by the situation. He continued:
I was just flabbergasted at what point did he go, 'this would be funny'?
That would be a horrifying event, even if it were meant as a joke. Envall said he could have thrown the person out of the theater but ultimately decided to handle the person like a child. The comedian told Fox:
I could have had him thrown out of the theater or anything, but I didn't. I just said, 'Well, you know, you don't toss stuff on stage.' It's like you almost have to talk to him like a little kid. Especially now, you can't even make any jokes politically if just because they're just ready to pounce.
Bill Engvall is far from the first comedian to comment on Will Smith's actions and the impact it has had on their career. Wanda Sykes said the awards incident traumatized her. The Upshaws star said she felt terrible for her friend Chris Rock. She said, "I couldn't believe he [Smith] was still sitting there like an asshole." Comedy legend Jim Carrey shared similar sentiments to Engvall and Sykes, saying he was sickened by the whole thing.
While it's been almost a year since the incident, and Will Smith officially apologized in a lengthy video, it seems we are not entirely done talking about the 2022 Oscar debacle. It's also impossible to see what the long-term impacts of a show of violence like the one aimed at Rock by Smith on such a public stage will have. Bill Engvall's long-running comedy career is just one of the possibly many influenced by the situation. Only time will tell if there will be other stand-up career casualties caused by the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actor's decision to assault a comedian.
We wish Bill Engvall a peaceful retirement and hope he gets to spend a lot of meaningful time with his family. Engvall's latest special, Bill Engvall: Sell Him For Parts, is streaming on multiple platforms. Comedy fans might also be interested in catching up with the best stand-up comedy specials streaming on Prime Video, or perhaps you would instead like to check out our 2023 new movie release schedule to plan your next trip to the cinema trip.
